Dessert of the Day
by paws-bells
Summary: Random ItaSaku drabbles/onesies featuring various universes and various storylines for your reading pleasure. Chapters may or may not be interconnected.
1. Chapter 1

**Title:** Dessert of the Day

**Author: **paws-bells

**Beta-ed by:** MelissaRose85

**Characters/Pairing: **Haruno Sakura and Uchiha Itachi

**Type:** One Shot/Drabble Collection (InComplete)

**Genre:** Romance/General/Humor

**Word Count:** 1314

**Rating: **T (Contains content not suitable for children)

**Disclaimer:** Naruto belongs to Kishimoto-san.

**Summary: **Random ItaSaku drabbles/onesies featuring various universes and various storylines for your reading pleasure. Chapters may or may not be interconnected.

**Created on:** 30/08/13

**Completed on:** 30/08/13

**Chapter Last Revised on:** 25/04/14

* * *

**Prompt: ****Non-massacre AU. Itachi has been secretly fascinated by Sakura for some time and uses an Uchiha family dinner as an opportunity to lay some ground work. Sasuke notices what his aniki is doing.**

* * *

Sakura sat on the edge of the engawa, her legs dangling from the wooden platform, and watched with mild amusement as the young children played amongst the adjacent bonsai garden. They looked like they were really enjoying themselves trying to catch the fireflies flitting about the place, and the carefree sounds of excited, youthful laughter filled the summer night.

It was the annual Uchiha banquet, and the festivities were in full swing as the entire Uchiha compound seemed to suddenly come alive for the celebrations, throwing open its gates and generously welcoming both friends and distant relatives to enter and join the revelry. There were people milling everywhere, and Sakura had just escaped the main hall to take a quick breather from the socializing – it seemed that her status as the Godaime's disciple preceded her even amongst the Uchiha clan members, and before she knew it, she was dispensing medical advice left and right, for issues as simple as ear aches to indigestion and everything in between. Naruto, Sai and Sasuke had callously abandoned her to her fate, those heartless cads, the three stooges quickly and stealthily slinking away before they could be inadvertently dragged into her unfortunate situation, much to her immense irritation. It was at least an hour before the overwhelming interest in her abated, and Sakura quickly took the opportunity to excuse herself before people could start asking questions again.

The pink-haired kunoichi sighed exasperatedly; now she knew why Shishou immediately declined when the latter had received the invite to the banquet – she just wished that her mentor had been kind enough to at least impart a word of warning to her as well. Now, it was clearly too late to back out from the event, and she was also starving – she had not even managed to steal a bite before retreating from the banquet in the main hall, and she also had no idea where her traitorous teammates had gone off to, those asshats.

Quiet footsteps alerted her to the presence of a newcomer then, emerging from within the Uchiha Main House, and Sakura immediately tensed warily as she turned her head to see who it was. Emerald eyes widened slightly with recognition at the calm approach of a tall, raven-haired male, clad in a handsome black formal men's kimono with dark grey accents. She knew this person; Uchiha Itachi – Sasuke's older brother, the heir of the Uchiha clan, ANBU Captain, prodigy extraordinaire. Bound by courtesy, she started to move to stand up, but he simply waved her back down. Dressed in a beautifully layered but rather movement restricting furisode herself, Sakura was only too happy to remain seated where she was.

"Uchiha-san," Sakura greeted with equal amounts of politesse and caution, dipping her head slightly in a graceful gesture of modesty and humility before her host, as formal guest etiquette dictated.

"Please, Haruno-san, at ease," he murmured with equal graciousness in return, even as he drew up next to her.

Sakura's brow knitted slightly in bewilderment as the man just continued to stand beside her and observe the children frolicking in the garden. The whole situation certainly felt rather odd to her, and it wasn't long before she felt the intense need to fill the silence between them with conversation. She didn't really know her teammate's sibling very well, but it couldn't hurt to be friendly and socialize a bit, could it?

"Tonight's banquet was absolutely lovely, Uchiha-san," Sakura politely ventured then, glancing up at her fellow nin. "Please convey my appreciation to Fugaku-sama and Mikoto-sama, if you will."

Calm onyx eyes met her gaze. "You're too kind, Haruno-san," he replied in return, simply accepting her compliments on behalf of his clan. "However, I cannot help but notice that you failed to sample the food before you left the table."

Sakura's face quickly turned pink with embarrassment and chagrin. Oh dang it, he had seen her. The heir of the clan had seen her. This was too mortifying for words.

She must have spoken her thoughts out loud, for he simply remarked. "You were nearly running for the door towards the end," he pointed out very tranquilly. "It would be impossible not to notice your hasty departure."

Sakura could not help herself – she ended up muttering a muffled expletive. "I just made a complete idiot out of myself back there, didn't I?" she grumbled lowly at last. She had really believed that she was being discreet.

"Don't worry, Haruno-san," he commented. "Your requirement for some privacy is understandable, in light of the earlier chaos."

"That's hardly going to make me feel better," Sakura replied disgruntledly.

To her surprise, the Uchiha heir looked mildly amused, and she stared, momentarily surprised at the way his slight change of mood simply highlighted his considerably good looking features and made him appear even more attractive than he already was. She was so taken aback that she nearly missed his next words. "Some food might make you feel better, Haruno-san. If you prefer it, I believe you may find my brother and your other two teammates at the back of the main kitchen."

Sakura snapped out of her stupor when her mind eventually caught up to what he had just told her. Bloody hell. Sasuke's brother was _scary_. She had only let down her guard for a brief moment and he had nearly bedazzled her with his appearance. Damn Uchihas and their pretty genes. No wonder he had such an impressive following amongst the Konoha kunoichi.

Sakura started to look a bit indignant then when she finally processed the rest of his words. "So that's where those three nincompoops are," she uttered, starting to stand up. "They are so going to get it from me for leaving me in a lurch like that. Thanks for telling me, Uchiha-san."

"You're welcome," he answered. Then, he added softly, seemingly out of the blue. "Sasuke has informed me of your impressive taijutsu skills; if you do not mind, Haruno-san, I'd like to spar with you one day."

Sakura just stared at him in surprise. Uchiha Itachi, _the_ Uchiha Itachi, had just acknowledged her abilities and wanted to cross blades with her. The pink-haired kunoichi was so flattered by his regard that she was rendered momentarily speechless.

"…I'd be glad to, Uchiha-san," she replied at last, and this time, he _smiled_ at her. It was just a small quirk of his lips, but the effect was devastating and it struck her completely dumb, and Sakura didn't even know what to think anymore.

He politely excused himself to return to his hosting duties then, and the pink-haired kunoichi was left to dazedly find her way back to her teammates' sides. Sure enough, the three powerful and high ranking Jounin were slumming it up in the kitchens like the Uchiha heir had astutely pointed out, hiding from everyone else in the compound and having a private party with free flow of food and sake. Sakura didn't even administer the scolding that she had originally intended to give them as she just wordlessly joined them, still in shock over what had just happened.

"What's wrong with you?" Sasuke demanded then, sensing something amiss with his best friend.

Emerald eyes looked at him in bewilderment.

"Sasuke, your brother just very randomly told me that he'd like to spar with me."

The younger Uchiha looked very put out then. "Is that what they call it now?" he simply muttered under his breath in return, and she stared at him, puzzled by how completely unsurprised he was by her shocking (at least it was shocking to her) statement.

"What do you mean by that?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. The whole thing was pretty obvious to him no matter which way he looked at it. "Sakura, you dumbass, it means that you just got asked out on a date by my brother."

Eh?

Ehh?!

"_Ehhhh?!_"

* * *

_::owari::_

* * *

**Questions That I Would Like To Answer Before You Ask:**

Hello there, everyone! Welcome to my new (sort of) ItaSaku oneshot/drabble collection, and I hope that you have enjoyed the first installment so far! As mentioned in the summary, the various chapters here will all be random and very likely _not_ connected to one another, so please do take note. Prompts for each update will also be stated very clearly on the top – **FYI, I'm currently_ not_ accepting any prompts at the moment, so please do not send me any until I request for them, thanks. **

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As usual, I cannot promise consistent updates – I've been really busy with other responsibilities and life in general, but I'll try my best to see what I can do. In addition, some of the chapters here will also be uploaded on tumblr, so please do not be surprised when you see the same fic floating around over at the other site.

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Thanks for your kind understanding, and as always, thanks for reading! Until next time!

**xXxXxXxXxX **

Your reviews fuel my passion for writing. So please leave a comment if you like this fic!

-paws


	2. Chapter 2

**Title:** Dessert of the Day

**Author: **paws-bells

**Beta-ed by:** MelissaRose85

**Characters/Pairing: **Haruno Sakura and Uchiha Itachi

**Type:** One Shot/Drabble Collection (InComplete)

**Genre:** Romance/General/Humor

**Word Count:** 889

**Rating: **T (Contains content not suitable for children)

**Disclaimer:** Naruto belongs to Kishimoto-san.

**Summary: **Random ItaSaku drabbles/onesies featuring various universes and various storylines for your reading pleasure. Chapters may or may not be interconnected.

**Created on:** 31/08/13

**Completed on:** 31/08/13

**Chapter Last Revised on:** 27/04/14

* * *

**Prompt: Modern AU. High School Crush.**

* * *

Sakura very nervously straightened her plaid skirt and fought the urge to fidget.

The pink-haired young woman felt extremely self-conscious in her high school uniform as she stood outside the office door of Professor Uchiha. It was afterschool hours and the faculty hallway was empty, devoid of life, but Sakura was still feeling jumpy all the same, leery of running into people and having to explain her presence. Her palms were slightly damp with perspiration and even her clothes felt rather restricting right now – she didn't quite remember her uniform being so tight that it felt hard to breathe – though that might just be her nerves speaking. She tucked an errant lock of her hair behind her ear and then tentatively reached out her hand to knock on the door, hesitating briefly before her knuckles made light, timid contact with the vertical wooden surface.

There was a slight pause on the other side, and then, she heard him give his permission to enter, and relief briefly inundated her before the unbearable tension rushed back again. Sakura wrapped her fingers around the doorknob and slowly turned it, opening the door slightly and cautiously sticking her head through the slight opening.

Uchiha Itachi looked up from his desk, his dark eyes immediately alighting on his visitor. Stacks of scientific journals and thick tomes were arrayed on his desk, and his computer screen flickered with light – he was obviously busy, and…he also wore a pair of reading glasses when he worked, she realized faintly.

"Sakura," he greeted softly, with the faintest hint of surprise tinting his polite, modulated voice. He glanced at the clock hanging on the wall above her; it was already past eight in the evening. "It's so late; what brings you to the university at this time?"

Sakura bit her lips, and then she slowly entered the room, slipping the door firmly shut behind her as she did so. She shook her head slightly, and then she blurted out.

"Good evening, Itachi-kun. Am I… Am I bothering you right now?" she sounded very vulnerable, and that prompted the Uchiha to give her his full attention, this girl who was the longtime childhood playmate of his otouto, and who had adored his younger brother for what had seemed like forever. The young genius theoretical physicist set down his pen and removed his glasses, folding the template before slipping it into its storage case with an elegant slight of his hand. He looked at the younger girl.

"Of course not," he told her assuringly. "You're never a bother, Sakura. What's wrong?"

Once again, Sakura just shook her head, and then, she took another slow, cautious step towards him. There was a brief moment where she looked increasingly panicked, like a young doe on the verge of bolting, before she seemed to draw herself up mentally and gave him a hesitant but brave smile instead.

She reached for her bag slowly, and then pulled out a rolled diploma to show it to him. "I graduated today," she announced slowly. "We had the graduation ceremony in school earlier. …I was valedictorian."

He smiled softly at her then, an expression that made her heart ache because it was so _beautiful_. "Aa, I know. Sasuke mentioned that you were all graduating today. Congratulations, Sakura. I'm proud of you. You're well on your way to being an adult now."

At his kind, gentle words, the eighteen year old girl felt her earlier, wavering resolve harden, and her pristine emerald gaze grew firm as she quickly made up her mind to do what she had originally set out to accomplish.

"I'm not a child anymore, Itachi-kun," she reminded him quietly. "So you can't treat me like one anymore either."

The young professor just continued to observe her with his sharp, watchful gaze, seeming to sense her odd mood.

"Remember the crush I told you about a long time ago?" she asked him then, willing her voice not to shake because this was taking more courage than she thought she possessed. "I told you that I loved this boy with my whole heart from the first moment I saw him, and you said that I should wait until I graduated from high school to confess my feelings, because Sasuke and I, we were both too young to handle our feelings for each other?"

Itachi appeared slightly concerned now. Of course he remembered. She had only been all of ten years old, a cute, sweet-looking little thing, with tragic tears filling her large eyes and bruises on her face from scrapping with his younger brother, and he had picked her up and soothed her on his knee after he made Sasuke apologize for fighting with her. His otouto was always so brusque with girls, and it seemed that he must have had said something to inadvertently hurt Sakura's feelings again.

"Sakura, did something happen with Sasuke?" he asked softly, cautiously, then.

Sakura looked at him with large, beseeching eyes.

"It's not Sasuke," she whispered. "It has never been Sasuke."

"That boy was _you_, Itachi-kun," she told him, much to his growing shock. "It has always been you."

"You told me to wait till I'm older, so I waited. Is it okay to say it now? Can I confess my feelings now?" she asked him tremulously.

"_I love you, Itachi-kun_."

* * *

_::owari::_

* * *

**Questions That I Would Like To Answer Before You Ask:**

Another quick chapter before the start of a new week! The ending was a bit open ended, but meh. I may come back to this one again because I happen to find Professor!Itachi rather intriguing, but we shall see what the muse says about that, haha. Hope you guys enjoyed it! =)

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**Once again, I'm currently not accepting any prompts at the moment, so please do not send me any until I request for them, thanks. **

**xXxXxXxXxX**

Thanks for your kind understanding, and as always, thanks for reading! Until next time!

**xXxXxXxXxX **

Your reviews fuel my passion for writing. So please leave a comment if you like this fic!

-paws


	3. Chapter 3

**Title:** Dessert of the Day

**Author: **paws-bells

**Beta-ed by:** MelissaRose85

**Characters/Pairing: **Haruno Sakura and Uchiha Itachi

**Type:** One Shot/Drabble Collection (InComplete)

**Genre:** Romance/General/Humor

**Word Count:** 1243

**Rating: **T (Contains content not suitable for children)

**Disclaimer:** Naruto belongs to Kishimoto-san.

**Summary: **Random ItaSaku drabbles/onesies featuring various universes and various storylines for your reading pleasure. Chapters may or may not be interconnected.

**Created on:** 03/09/13

**Completed on:** 03/09/13

**Chapter Last Revised on:** 30/04/14

* * *

**Prompt: Modern/Fantasy AU. Koi fishes.**

* * *

The young master of the noble Uchiha clan padded out of the Main House, silent as a wraith. It was the middle of the night, but a low, pregnant moon hung amongst the starlit skies, lighting his way as he gracefully stepped off of the wooden engawa and down the stone steps, following a short, well-worn path that led to the koi garden. He was barefooted, a dark grey yukata tied loosely around his lean, wiry form, his long, sleek raven hair bound at the nape, the silky ends trailing over the side of his neck and clavicle. It was the height of summer, and fireflies darted about lazily in the dark as they tried to attract their mates.

The koi garden of the Uchiha clan consisted of the largest body of water in the entire property. It was a tranquil but deep, naturally occurring spring that surrounded the Main House like a moat, and hundreds of beautiful, glittering koi fishes resided in that peaceful pond. Lush foliage and outcropping rocks surrounded it, lending it a tropical, exotic air that was also strangely relaxing to anyone who visited the place. It had been the pride of the Uchiha clan for generations, and when Itachi succeeded his father as the next head of the family, he automatically inherited the traditional Main House, filled with centuries of rich and colorful history, as well as its precious koi garden.

The koi garden possessed a secret though, one that only the active leader of the clan would be privy to, but Itachi had known of its existence since he was a very young boy.

He stepped into the serene garden, soundlessly brushing past the fauna and coming to a stop at the edge of the huge pond. Dark eyes briefly surveyed the still waters, and then he folded his rangy frame and sat gracefully on the stone outcropping. Almost instantaneously, masses of koi fishes swam up eagerly to him, rising up to the surface to be fed, their beautiful scales gleaming under the moonlight. The gigantic koi competed for the pellets that he brought with him, splashing and slapping at the water surface eagerly with their tail fins as he evenly distributed the food amongst them. It was some time before the feeding frenzy finally abated, and once all the food was gone, the fishes calmed once more, lingering about him briefly as if in gratitude, before lazily swimming away to the other parts of the pond.

Slowly, Itachi dipped his feet into the clear, cool water, and then, he simply waited. Lifting his face to the moon, he closed his eyes and seemed to luxuriate in its gentle rays, absorbing the sounds and the refreshing scent of the peaceful nature all around him, letting them wash over him, soothe him.

After a short moment, he eventually felt the telltale ripple of water lapping against his ankles, and it was all he could do not to smile. Careful to keep his eyes closed, he called out quietly.

"Won't you come out tonight, Sakura?"

There was no reply to his question, and at last, Itachi opened his eyes. The pond was peaceful, no sign of disturbances whatsoever on its calm surface. The dark-haired male was undaunted. He continued to speak in his dulcet, lilting tenor.

"I've missed you," he admitted softly. "Please, will you let me see you?"

This time, there was a reaction. In the pond a few paces away from him, a shadow flitted swiftly under the surface, agitating the waters; a pale gleam of pink, a sleek flash of glittering black and crimson scales, gone as quickly as they appeared. She was definitely still angry, but he knew that she could never stay mad at him for long.

Sure enough, after a while, the water stealthily parted over a damp pink crown, and bright emerald green eyes that were barely situated above the pond's surface stared at him reproachfully. She was obviously pouting, and it was adorable.

Itachi could not help himself this time, he smiled. His usually remote onyx gaze was gentle, and the look in his eyes inadvertently soothed her temper as well.

"Hello, Sakura," he greeted gently, and after a brief hesitation, she slipped underwater again only to reappear right before him. This time, she chose to reveal more of herself, her head bobbing above the pond surface, her long pink hair floating in the water around her lithe torso. Her lovely, heart-shaped face glistened under the moonlight, her soft mouth was pink and full, her dense lashes were beaded with crystalline drops of water, and her eyes were the deepest, most arresting shade of verdant in the world.

As always, she was the most beautiful woman he had ever met.

_Ningyo_.

Under the surface of the pristine water, he could clearly make out the bottom half of her body, the part that was more fish than human. Her coloring was a vivid crimson with beautiful black markings, and her lovely fins were long and flowing, her fluid movements extremely graceful to behold as she swam lazily to keep her place. She was a koi mermaid, a mythical creature of legends, and she had been living in the Uchiha koi pond for hundreds of years.

She looked exactly the same as the first time he had seen her more than two decades ago, when he was only a young boy. Now, he was nearing thirty, and she was still eternally youthful. Another hundred years from now, when he was no longer around, she would probably still look as she did at this very moment, perfection frozen in time, forever trapped in this koi garden, forever alone. The thought made his heart ache.

Sakura reached out to touch him then, her hands cool as she lightly caressed his leg. She looked up at him, and there was nothing but innocence shining in those emerald depths. He held out his hand towards her, and she automatically lifted her face to him, her eyes fluttering close, accepting his touch. Her skin was petal soft under his fingers, and he could not help but stroke her face tenderly. She nuzzled into his touch wordlessly, like an affectionate kitten.

His gaze softened. "Sakura," he whispered her name again, and her eyes slowly opened once more, looking at him. "Will you remember me when I'm gone?"

Even though she could not speak, she understood what he was saying well enough. Her expressive features saddened, turned heavy with grief. She turned her face into his hand, and then she kissed his palm and fingers softly. Her feelings for him were obvious, and that just made their current situation even more painful.

Star-crossed.

If only she was human like him. If only he was a fish like her.

He had loved her from the very moment he first set eyes on her, but clearly, they were not meant to be. Perhaps, it would have been kinder for the both of them if they had never met at all.

"…I…ta…chi." Her voice was low, garbled; a sibilant hiss, and he stared at her in shock. She possessed no vocal chords because fish did not speak, but clearly, she was forcing the words out of her throat somehow. It obviously took her a lot of effort to do so, but still, she was doing it for him. Looking at him beseechingly with her large eyes, she silently begged him to understand.

"…Ai…shi…te…ru."

* * *

"_A bird and a fish can fall in love, but where would they live?"_

* * *

_::owari::_

* * *

**Questions That I Would Like To Answer Before You Ask:**

And here is number three! Thanks for the generous support, you guys! I've really been enjoying all of your sweet and wonderful reviews/comments/insights so far and I'm really, really happy to recognize the pseudonyms of a good number of you who have been loyally following my (highly sporadic) updates for years. It is nearly enough to make me cry, no joke. You lot are amazing and I adore all of you. (Of course, I adore ItaSaku more but I don't think you guys will complain too much about that, hehe.)

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FYI, the term 'ningyo' is the Japanese term for mermaid. ('nin' = human, and 'gyo' = fish, when directly translated kanji for kanji, if I'm not wrong.)

For those who are unaware, 'Aishiteru' means 'I love you' in Japanese.

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**Once again, I'm currently not accepting any prompts at the moment, so please do not send me any until I request for them, thanks. **

**xXxXxXxXxX**

Thanks for your kind understanding, and as always, thanks for reading! Until next time!

**xXxXxXxXxX **

Your reviews fuel my passion for writing. So please leave a comment if you like this fic!

-paws


	4. Chapter 4

**Title:** Dessert of the Day

**Author: **paws-bells

**Beta-ed by:** MelissaRose85

**Characters/Pairing: **Haruno Sakura and Uchiha Itachi

**Type:** One Shot/Drabble Collection (InComplete)

**Genre:** Romance/General/Humor

**Word Count:** 705

**Rating: **T (Contains content not suitable for children)

**Disclaimer:** Naruto belongs to Kishimoto-san.

**Summary: **Random ItaSaku drabbles/onesies featuring various universes and various storylines for your reading pleasure. Chapters may or may not be interconnected.

**Created on:** 09/04/14

**Completed on:** 09/04/14

**Chapter Last Revised on:** 02/05/14

* * *

**Prompt: Modern AU. Technologically-inept!Itachi**

* * *

"Seriously, Itachi, we really need to stop meeting each other like this," Sakura remarked by way of greeting when her next door neighbor opened his door and ushered her into his apartment.

"Hello Sakura, thank you for coming," the raven-haired male greeted in return, impeccably polite and proper as always. The young woman pretended not to notice how scrummy the man looked in a casual sweater and a pair of worn, comfortable black jeans, his feet bare against the carpet.

She busied herself by rolling up her sleeves and replied instead. "Don't mention it. Now; what's wrong with your computer this time?"

The Uchiha led her down the hall and into his study, where a desktop computer was sitting on his table. "It's been running rather slowly recently, so I'd appreciate if you could take a look at it for me."

"Alright, I'll see what I can do." Sakura went over to boot up the computer while Itachi went off to the kitchen to make tea for his guest. By the time the man returned, Sakura had already more or less figured out what the issue was this time.

"Goodness, Itachi. Your desktop is ridiculously cluttered – you need to clean it up more," Sakura tsked irritably, though the man frowned slightly and set the tray of beverages on the pristine surface of his table.

"I always keep my desk clean," he replied rather quizzically, and it slowly occurred to Sakura that he had taken her words too literally. The young woman could not help herself; she snorted softly in amusement.

"I didn't mean this physical desk – I was referring to your virtual one," she pointed out, gesturing to the computer desktop, which was filled with icons and shortcuts for various files. "I can't believe you; I just got you to clear most of these a month ago, and now they are all back again. No wonder your computer is lagging so horribly."

Sakura privately found it pretty amusing that her quiet neighbor was such an immaculate and fastidious individual in real life but had trouble keeping his computer in the same tidy state.

The man appeared faintly chagrinned by her mild rebuke. "I apologize; to be honest, I have no idea why all these icons keep appearing on my desktop." He sounded genuinely perplexed too, and still smiling in amusement, Sakura just shook her head slightly.

"Just remember to get rid of them every so often then, and are you making proper use of the computer cleaning tools and defragging software that I installed for you last time?"

"I am," he nodded somberly, passing her a mug of steaming ocha as he did so. Sakura accepted the drink gratefully and took a sip. She proceeded to nearly spit out the mouthful when the internet browser finally opened and revealed to her a screen filled with mental anguish and regret.

"_Itachi_!" she squawked in disbelief. "Why on earth do you need; wait, let me count – three, four five, six, seven – _seven_ _toolbars_?!"

The Uchiha set down his own mug and leaned over from behind Sakura to see what she was talking about. The pink haired woman felt her cheeks redden ever so slightly at their sheer proximity. His crisp, refreshing scent teased her nose, and her face flushed even more.

Onyx eyes slipped over to glance at the embarrassed female. "…I've no idea how they got there," he replied baldly at last, his face still hovering rather close to her burning one, his calm, placid expression studying her flustered features.

"Uhm," Sakura floundered briefly for words, slightly rattled by the quiet intensity of his rapt attention. "I-I'll just uninstall them for you, then. You don't need those at all. I think the diagnostic tool also detected some malware; I'll try to clear that for you as well, but you should take care not to visit any suspicious sites-" the pink haired woman would have rambled on even more if he had not interrupted her then.

"Ah, I think I know how those got there now," Itachi murmured then.

Despite her frazzled demeanor, Sakura was curious to know. "How?"

"…I was informed that I won an iPad from an online drawing," he deadpanned, serious as ever.

"…"

* * *

_::owari::_

* * *

**Questions That I Would Like To Answer Before You Ask:**

Ugh, I just like writing adorkable!Itachi too much.

I derived inspiration for this drabble from my equally adorkable Dad, who once got very excited when he thought that he had really won an iPad from one of those silly ads online. Evidently, Itachi's level of technological awareness is even lower than that, ahaha.

As always, hope you lot enjoyed this!

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Next, a small handful of you had some enquiries about the previous chapter (the one with mermaid!Sakura), curious to know why she had been shown to be upset with Itachi at the beginning of the fic. I neglected to write the reasoning in (forgot all about it, actually), but she had been unhappy at first because Itachi had gone on a business trip and had left her alone for days prior to the story.

So that answers the mystery!

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**Once again, I'm currently not accepting any prompts at the moment, so please do not send me any until I request for them, thanks. **

**xXxXxXxXxX**

Thanks for your kind understanding, and as always, thanks for reading! Until next time!

**xXxXxXxXxX **

Your reviews fuel my passion for writing. So please leave a comment if you like this fic!

-paws


	5. Chapter 5

**Title:** Dessert of the Day

**Author: **paws-bells

**Beta-ed by:** MelissaRose85

**Characters/Pairing: **Haruno Sakura and Uchiha Itachi

**Type:** One Shot/Drabble Collection (InComplete)

**Genre:** Romance/General/Humor

**Word Count:** 1308

**Rating: **T (Contains content not suitable for children)

**Disclaimer:** Naruto belongs to Kishimoto-san.

**Summary: **Random ItaSaku drabbles/onesies featuring various universes and various storylines for your reading pleasure. Chapters may or may not be interconnected.

**Created on:** 10/04/14

**Completed on:** 10/04/14

**Chapter Last Revised on:** 18/05/14

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**Prompt: Modern AU. Itachi really likes Sakura but he never says a word to Sakura because his only interactions with girls are fangirls and include him constantly running away.**

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Sakura knocked firmly on the door and waited for a response.

"Enter."

The pink haired female turned the doorknob and let herself into the office, bowing slightly in greeting before her quietly enigmatic colleague.

"Good afternoon, Uchiha-san," The young high school teacher uttered politely and pleasantly to her fellow instructor, determined to be as civil as she could regardless of his infamously cool and distant demeanor. "I've brought the student records as well as the memo regarding the planning for the school festival; shall we get started?"

Dark onyx eyes met hers for a brief second before he looked away, centering his gaze somewhere over her left shoulder instead. The raven haired male nodded subtly, and Sakura ventured deeper into his office, taking a seat on the other side of his desk and starting to take out the materials for their meeting. Even though Sakura had only joined the teaching faculty of Konoha High this year as the new Biology teacher, she had already been picked to oversee and facilitate preparations for the annual school festival, and Uchiha-san, who taught Math and Physics, had also been chosen to be her co-organizer. The whole arrangement was a bit iffy to Sakura since it was obvious by now that the wildly popular and handsome Uchiha-san (he even had his own fan club amongst the female student body, complete with a large, loyal following) did not appear to like her very much, and the young pink haired teacher had groaned inwardly in dismay when she discovered her partner for this project.

For some reason unknown to her, Uchiha-san was always avoiding her. He maintained a fair distance whenever they had to speak, he always looked rigid and wary as if she was about to do something really awful to him, and he could never seem to look her straight in the eye, almost like he could not even stand having her in his sight. Sakura was bewildered and more than a bit hurt by her colleague's abhorrence of her. He kept away from her like she was the plague, quickly excusing himself from conversations whenever she joined in, and for the life of her, the young woman just could not figure out whatever she had done to offend him so. He did not have any issues with the other teachers, and from what Sakura could see, he was also cordial and polite towards their fellow colleagues and students – so it was only her he had a problem with.

Enough was enough, and Sakura was getting really sick and tired of this constant awkwardness and unbearable tension between the two of them. The pink haired female had no idea why she was disliked so much but she was determined to clear the air and set everything straight before they embarked on this school festival project. It would be intolerable otherwise, for the two of them to remain in such a painfully uncomfortable situation for the next few months.

"Do you have the proposed theme ready, Haruno-san?" the Uchiha enquired in a grave, solicitous manner, though he was still very carefully avoiding eye contact with her. The other teacher was also leaning back in his chair and rather surreptitiously moving away from the desk she was occupying, and despite her determination to be polite and cordial, Sakura could feel her temper rising rapidly, getting very close to flaring. The straw that broke this camel's back was when the awful man tilted his head up and stared at the ceiling than at her; he would rather look at the ceiling tiles than at her – she was _not _that repulsive!

"Excuse me, Uchiha-san," Sakura snapped at last, unable to tolerate this awfully rude and insufferable man any longer. This had been bothering her for the past few months and it was way past time to confront him about it. "Do you have something against me? I cannot help but notice that every time I'm around, you avoid me like you cannot even stand having me near. If this is such a huge issue to you, then I can always suggest to Principal Sarutobi-sama that we work separately from now on-"

For the first time ever, the Uchiha stared straight at her, his eyes widening ever so slightly in surprise, and if possible, he appeared genuinely baffled by her cool, clipped accusation, much to her own increasing confusion.

"That's not it," he interrupted her in a mildly strained tone at last, and her eyebrow raising, she waited for him to elaborate. He looked reluctant to speak, but she was not backing down this time, determined to have this whole problem between them sorted out once and for all.

"…I apologize if I have somehow, inadvertently, made you feel slighted; that was not my intention," he spoke slowly and carefully at last, as if he still had trouble grasping the reason for her misunderstanding. "I didn't mean to…"

For the first time, he was speaking to her directly and honestly, and Sakura's head tilted in a perplexed manner as she sensed the genuine sincerity in his words. Her earlier sharp temper started to subside, just a little. Could this have just been a huge mix up? "You didn't mean to…?" she echoed in a less aggressive tone, encouraging him to continue what he was about to say. However, Uchiha-san was floundering to speak, though he was also making a huge effort to continue to look her in the eye, something that she just realized in an abrupt epiphany that he had been struggling with all along. The poor man appeared mildly distressed by the situation, and suddenly, Sakura was starting to feel bad for forcing this confrontation without properly considering the other party's point of view.

"Uhm, it's alright," she spoke at last, forcing an awkward smile of her own. "…I think I understand. I apologize too, Uchiha-san. I didn't mean to trouble you – I'll be careful to keep my distance from now on if that's what you-"

"That's not what I want," he told her quietly before she could finish. Once again, he was struggling to pick the correct words to say, and she could see in his eyes that he was attempting to apologize in his own way too. This was probably the first time that she had seen this usually composed and self-possessed man so frazzled, and for some reason, she privately found this rarely seen, awkward side of him somewhat endearing, and it slowly made her feel more accepting of him as she gradually comprehended the truth. Uchiha-san was not an ill-mannered and mean person; he was just somewhat clumsy and graceless when it came to interacting with some people, though she wondered just why he seemed to find it difficult to communicate with her – she had always made an effort to be outgoing and friendly.

"It's difficult for me to look at you," he admitted then, and before she could take offense at his blunt statement, he continued blithely. "You're too bright, Haruno-san; you hurt my eyes."

Of all the things that he could say, she was definitely not expecting this. The Biology teacher stared blankly at her raven haired colleague.

Eh? Ehh? _EHH?!_

_Too bright_? What was that supposed to mean? He made it sound like some sort of love confession-

Poor Sakura's mind short circuited then, and the young woman quickly turned a deep, dull red. The fact that Uchiha-san now looked subtly relieved since he had finally gotten the words off of his chest did not ease her embarrassment any, and he was also looking at her in a way as though he expected her to understand the rest of the situation and pick up from there.

_But what on earth was this ridiculous situation?!_

"Erm- U-Uh-"

_Great_; how was she supposed to look him in the eye now?!

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_::owari_

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**Questions That I Would Like To Answer Before You Ask:**

Oh dear, it seems that my modernAU!Itachi is turning into something of a dork, hah. He's such an awkward penguin but I think I like him portrayed like this every once in a while, lol.

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**Once again, I'm currently not accepting any prompts at the moment, so please do not send me any until I request for them, thanks. **

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Thanks for your kind understanding, and as always, thanks for reading! Until next time!

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Your reviews fuel my passion for writing. So please leave a comment if you like this fic!

-paws


	6. Chapter 6

**Title:** Dessert of the Day

**Author: **paws-bells

**Beta-ed by:** MelissaRose85

**Characters/Pairing: **Haruno Sakura and Uchiha Itachi

**Type:** One Shot/Drabble Collection (InComplete)

**Genre:** Romance/General/Humor

**Word Count:** 1284

**Rating: **T (Contains content not suitable for children)

**Disclaimer:** Naruto belongs to Kishimoto-san.

**Summary: **Random ItaSaku drabbles/onesies featuring various universes and various storylines for your reading pleasure. Chapters may or may not be interconnected.

**Created on:** 11/04/14

**Completed on:** 11/04/14

**Chapter Last Revised on:** 18/06/14

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**Prompt: Fantasy AU. Undead!Itachi on date with Sakura**

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This was by far the most awkward date that Sakura had ever been to.

The location was also rather alarming, all dark and gloomy and nothing like the cute, charming cafes with their delicious specialty desserts that she usually preferred to frequent. She also felt completely out of place in this oppressive and gothic tavern; her bright, colorful Magical Girl outfit with its dazzling jewels and elaborate, flashy design as well as her cotton candy pink hair really stuck out like a sore thumb when compared to the other patrons, who were all in dull colors and were either hooded or dressed so inconspicuously that she might as well have been a bird of paradise stranded in the middle of a murder of crows.

Her _date_, on the other hand, looked perfectly at home amongst the dismal backdrop, as could be expected from an infamous line of powerful Necromancers. Dressed in unrelieved black from head to toe, the heir to the Uchiha guild was a picture of austere aristocracy, his inhumanly handsome, alabaster features and glowing, crimson eyes marking him as a member of the undead, which made this appointment an even stranger one. The both of them made a rather odd sight sitting across from each other and sharing a meal in dead silence (pun unintended) – Magical Girls and Necromancers were hardly the most common combination, after all, if there ever was one. Sakura was not unfamiliar to his kind though, since one of her best friend also happened to be the younger brother of this man whom she was currently on a _date_ with, though not for the first time, the pink haired female silently lamented her bad luck for landing herself in this awkward situation as well as her general inability to say 'no' to the request of her closest friend.

The young woman still had no idea why such a powerful mage of the dark occult would request her presence seemingly out of the blue. Even though she had known Sasuke since she was little, Sakura did not have much contact with the rest of his Necromancer clan at all, and had therefore been taken by surprise when the spikey haired Uchiha had come to her a few days ago without their other best friend, the famous protector of the realms, the Sun Knight Uzumaki Naruto, gruffly convincing her to accept an invitation from his aniki. So now here she was, daintily but determinedly chowing her way through a rather unappetizing slab of cold meat pie, bound by common courtesy to finish her food, even as her companion for the evening just sat there and watched her intently like one would a bug under a magnifying glass, his long, narrow fingers interlaced on the table before him, barely even touching the goblet of red wine that he had ordered.

At long last, Sakura managed to choke down her dinner, and when she finally set down her fork and dinner knife in relief, her date finally stirred, lifting that uncannily sharp, acutely intelligent gaze of his to meet her wary emerald one.

"Would you like more?" he asked quietly, and her eyes widened slightly in alarm. Taking a hasty sip of water from the glass before her, she quickly shook her head, waving a hand in front of her for extra emphasis.

"No, thank you! I'm, uh, very full already, Uchiha-san," she swiftly demurred. Changing the subject before he could insist, she blurted out. "Will you not eat as well?"

The lean, wiry male shook his head once in negative. "I do not consume the same food as you; I apologize for the discourtesy."

Right. The most formidable members of the undead did not require frequent sustenance, and when they did, human food provided little nourishment beyond the basic enjoyment of taste, and what truly sustained them was something else altogether. _Powerful emotions. Pain. Despair. Fear. Terror_.

Sakura shuddered inwardly as she remembered this sobering fact. Usually Sasuke would deign to partake in meals with her and Naruto, but she had to remind herself that she was not dealing with the younger brother right now, but the older one whom she knew next to nothing about.

"It's alright. I understand." There was an awkward pause (at least on her side) as she tried to figure out just what was going on here. For the life of her, she still did not have a clue what this meeting was supposed to be about, and so far, the intimidating raven haired man was keeping a closed mouth on the subject as well. Sakura had no intention of wasting the rest of the evening sitting about in awkward silence while suffering the (increasingly exasperating) scrutiny of the Necromancer though.

"…Uchiha-san," she uttered slowly at last. "Can you at least tell me what I'm supposed to be doing here? Sasuke informed me that everything would make sense when you arrive, but I'm afraid that I'm still pretty much in the dark here."

Itachi silently studied the pretty young woman for a while longer. There was no other way to say it, and so he did not even try.

"It has been decided by the Uchiha guild that you will be my wife," he commented as calmly as though they were only discussing the weather. "Therefore I'll be courting you henceforth until you agree to marry me."

He probably could have worded it in a less threatening manner and he could have had also let her know the news in a more gentler way, but the Uchiha scion was not exactly thrilled about this situation either, and so the faster he could get it over with, the better.

Sakura's mouth had fallen so wide open that flies could have flown in before she could close it again. The Magical Girl was frozen with shock. "Wait;_ what_?!" At the moment, she was more stunned than agitated, though the latter was slowly overtaking the former and it showed on her frowning, perplexed features. "Is this a joke…?"

"I don't make jokes," he replied stoically in response to her stumped demeanor. "This is part of an agreement between your guild and mine. The strongest of your kind will be joined to the strongest of mine by the bond of marriage. You are the most promising member of your generation, and I am the next in line to lead my clan. This contract has been bound in blood, and your head of guild has also agreed to it."

"What agreement? And_ marriage?!_" Sakura blurted out in disbelief, starting to scowl mulishly and disagreeably as well. "W-Well! I'm not going to just blindly believe whatever you say! Are you a lunatic?!"

He tactfully ignored her spluttering insult. "You are free to consult your Guild mistress. Tsunade-sama is fully aware of the details and I'm sure that she will be more than happy to clarify your doubts."

He made the whole thing sound like some kind of simple business transaction, and Sakura could feel her temper rising even further. All semblance of ladylike sweetness and polite civility promptly flew right out of the window.

"No! NO WAY IN HELL," the feisty pink haired female snapped loudly at last, so agitated that she was starting to glow a bit with her powers and she was even going so far as to make a huge 'X' sign with her arms, as if doing her best to ward off the devil. The other patrons were all turning around to stare at the spectacle.

"I'm not marrying you even if you kneel on the floor and beg, Uchiha-san, and just for the record, this was the lousiest date I've ever had the misfortune of going on!"

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_::owari::_

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**Questions That I Would Like To Answer Before You Ask:**

Ahahaha, I think this will be a very fun verse to explore, if my muses cooperate for once and let me write more than one shots and drabbles. Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed this one as always.

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**Once again, I'm currently not accepting any prompts at the moment, so please do not send me any until I request for them, thanks. **

**xXxXxXxXxX**

Thanks for your kind understanding, and as always, thanks for reading! Until next time!

**xXxXxXxXxX **

Your reviews fuel my passion for writing. So please leave a comment if you like this fic!

-paws


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